The Third Hitachiin
by storygirl1015
Summary: Haruhi is finally starting to settle into life at Ouran with the wacky host club, until a shocking revelation about two of its members flips everything upside down. The twins are actually triplets! And their sister is coming to Ouran? Oh boy... Hitachiin!fluff
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first ever OHSHC (seriously, could that acronym **_**be**_** any longer?) It's an OCxharem and a Haruhix? Hmm…not sure who she should be with…maybe I'll have a poll for it later? Eh, anyway, got this adorable idea from lissythecreator's "Triplets, Not Twins" one-shot, which was so fluffy-wuffy it made me think of this!**

**Hopefully I'm not really taking the idea since I plan to come up with my own plot. This starts about a month after Haruhi has joined the host club, just to clarify. So some events have not taken place yet and others in the timeline may be slightly altered.**

**Summary: **Hikaru and Kaoru are the host club's 'little devils'. They're known for their brotherly love and are as close as twins could be, right? But what if the twins have been hiding a dark secret…the fact that they're not twins at all, but triplets! Can Haruhi and the rest of the host club handle the craziness that happens when their secret sister joins the academy?

* * *

The bells for classes to begin had just rung at Ouran Academy. Inside, a certain popular group of boys (and one girl) talked animatedly as they headed to their separate classes. Haruhi was just starting to get used to host life and the wild antics that came with it.

She'd never admit it, but being with them was the happiest she had been in a while. She walked between the twins, who were as animated as usual and both had an arm around her shoulders.

She brushed their touchiness aside as usual as they entered home room and she took up her usual spot. Kaoru pouted and Hikaru threw paper balls at her in an attempt to get her attention, but she shot them an icy glare before taking out her notebook as the lesson began.

'_Wow, it's funny how I've gotten so used to things around here, despite how weird they all are._' She sighed, staring out the window at the courtyard. She caught sight of a sleek limo pulling into the circle near the front steps and sat up a little straighter. '_I wonder who that could be…_'

At a school like Ouran, where almost everyone was from some wealthy family or another, seeing kids come to school in a limo was nothing out of the ordinary, so Haruhi normally wouldn't have been surprised, but when the chauffeur opened the door and a small girl stepped out she found herself curious.

It was hard to see from the third floor…but something about her seemed a little familiar. She turned back around as the teacher asked someone to solve the problem on the board. She shook her head, dismissing the thought for the moment. '_Guess that's my cue to get back to the lesson. I probably just imagined it anyways…'_

Outside, the pale girl stepped carefully out and quietly thanked her chauffeur before staring up at the school's magnificent architecture with awe. '_This is it…right? Do nii-chan and aniki really go here?_' She took a deep breath, her wavy auburn hair blowing gently in the breeze.

She fumbled with her favorite white hair ribbon—one of the last gifts her brothers had ever given her—and began to walk up the front steps, her white skirt swishing behind her. Her eyes shined with determination, "Starting today, I'm an Ouran Academy student just like you are onii-sans!"

* * *

"So, that pop quiz today was totally lame, am I right?" Hikaru grinned down at the short-haired girl walking between them, who simply shot him a dry look.

"It wasn't a pop quiz, Hikaru. The teacher told us about it last Friday…we were supposed to study over the weekend, remember?"

Hikaru cocked his head to one side, looking thoughtful, "Hmm…nope, doesn't ring a bell…"

"That's probably because we got into mom's champagne last weekend and were totally hung over," Kaoru piped up.

A light bulb seemed to flash over Hikaru's head as he smirked. "Oh yeah, that's right!"

Haruhi gave a heavy sigh and wondered exactly why she chose to associate with such morons outside of the club. "You guys are hopeless."

"Oh hey, wonder what today's theme's gonna be?" Kaoru said aloud.

"I dunno. But hopefully it's better than that cabana thing we did last time. That wet towel really chafed," Hikaru muttered.

"I thought you looked cute~!" Kaoru chirped with starry eyes.

"Aww…not as adorable as you we—"

"Hey! We're not even at the host club yet, will you guys just knock it off?!" Haruhi shouted, losing her patience with the mischievous duo.

"Does the thought of us being so exposed…bother you?" Hikaru breathed into her ear and Haruhi flinched away with a glare, her cheeks a light pink.

"N-no, I just think you guys can get really weird sometimes, ok?" They now stood outside the doors of Music Room #3 and opened the doors to find Honey and Mori already dressed for the day's theme.

"Haru-chaaan!" Hunny squealed, jumping away from Mori to fling himself toward Haruhi who had no choice but to catch the little blond. "Hey Hunny-sempai." she greeted calmly before placing the small host back on the ground, "What are you wearing?" she asked curiously, tilting her head as she studied his dark suit and top hat.

"You like?" he chiped, turning around so she could see the whole thing. "I'm a magician! And Usa-chan's my assistant!" Haruhi nodded slowly, getting what the theme they'd be doing was.

Behind her, the twins were playfully harassing a placid Mori.

"Hey, Mori-sempai..." Kaoru started.

"Are you even gonna..."

"At least try to be scary?" they both asked doubtfully, eying the tall boy dressed in the lion costume.

Mori looked down at them and his whiskers seemed to twitch. "Maybe..." The twins sweat dropped.

Haruhi glanced around the room, frowning quietly. Something was missing...somethat that should be obvious and-

"Aaah! Come one, come all! Welcome to the one and only Cirque de Ouran!" cheered a familiar voice as a cloud of colorful smoke filled the room and a tall blond stepped forward as it cleared.

Haruhi stared blankly. Yeah, that was it alright.

Tamiki was dressed as a ringmaster, unsurprisingly, and beside him, Kyoya wore white harem pants with a red sash around his slim waist and an open purple vest. A turban with a single red feather was on his head and his arms were decorated in solid gold bangles.

"S-sempai?" Haruhi blinked at the Ootori.

"_Whooa!_" Kaoru gasped.

_"Cool!"_ Hikaru chorused.

"So we're really gonna do a cirque?" they both questioned, "Where are our outfits then?"

"Right here, boys~!" Tamaki practically sang as he gave each twin their own colorful jumpsuit and ushered them to go change. They needed no further invitation and excitedly rushed off.

Tamaki turned to a still silent Haruhi with sparkles practically lighting up his violet eyes. "So, what does my little girl think? The host club's very own classy, grade-A ringtop event!" He twirled around happily, almost tripping over his whip.

"Do you guys even know what a real circus is...?" Haruhi stated more than asked.

"Of course." Kyoya responded, coming over. "I've done extensive research to ensure our guests have only the most authentic experience. I've found that you commoners seem to enjoy circus trips as a form of entertainment." the black-haired sophomore nodded, obviously satisfied with himself.

Haruhi resisted rolling her eyes, _'That pretty much answers that question then...' _

"So I guess I'm gonna have to wear something ridiculous too..." she sighed in mental defeat.

"Oh heavens no!" Tamaki exclaimed, "we have only the best for our princess, of course!" he smiled and motioned for Kyoya who stepped over holding a costume that seemed to have materialized from no where.

Haruhi took it hesitantly and held the material out in front of her. It was a tight black leotard with white stockings. "What. Is. This?" she ground out, her left eye twitching maddeningly.

"Your acrobat costume of course!" Tamaki answered proudly.

"We got it special made just for you, Haru-chan!" Hunny bounced over to her giggling. "Tama-chan insisted it'd look really good on you!"

Haruhi glared at the hosts who were staring at her eagerly, causing her to flinch back slightly. "You can't...seriously expect me to _wear_ this...this piece of spandex, can you?"

"I don't see the problem," Kyoya replied smoothly, already typing away on his computer, though Haruhi couldn't even begin to imagine what about. "Or, you could wear this adorable bunny costume instead, if you'd prefer." he said, a tinge of evilness in his voice as he held up the skimpiest, naughtiest bunny costume Haruhi had ever had the displeasure of seeing.

She growled her disdain before snatching up the leotard from where she'd dropped it on the floor and stalking off to change, muttering obscenities under her breath.

Tamaki turned to look at Kyoya slowly and eyed the rabbit costume. "_Mommy!_" he whined, "Why didn't you tell me that was a choice to begin with?!"

Kyoya calmly pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned away from the dramatic blond. "It was meant only as a last resort to force Haruhi into complying. Actually having her _wear_ it, well...maybe another time."

"But...but..." Tamaki whimpered, sniffling. Hunny patted the taller boy's arm sympathetically while Kyoya merely went back to making sure the decorations were set up perfectly.

Hikaru giggled at their leader's forlorn expression after having been shot down by the Shadow King, yet again. "Hahaha! Even though sempai pretends they're a couple, I think Kyoya-sempai's more like the dad, don't you?"

"..."

"Eh? Kaoru, what's wrong? Why are you zoning out like that?" Hikaru turned to his brother with a concerned frown. Kaoru merely blinked out of his daze before shaking his head.

"Oh, uh no reason...just got a weird feeling suddenly. But it's gone now," he reassured his twin.

Hikaru still seemed a little skeptical but nodded slowly. "Okay...if you say so."

:~XoXoXo~:

She continued to climb the stairs as quickly as she could manage, her breath coming out in small pants and her cheeks flushed. _'These stairs go on forever...'_ she thought, _'But I'm so close. I've made it this far, so I can't stop.'_

Students looking over the staircase on the second floor glanced down at the stranger in an unfamiliar uniform as she made it to the last landing before ascending the winding staircase in a determined bound, holding the sides of her skirt as she hopped them two at a time before reaching the top.

Amber eyes glanced frantically from side to side as the corridor had split off into several directions. This place was bigger than she'd ever dreamed of. And in all her excitement she'd completely forgone going to the headmaster's office to get a schedule or maybe even some assistance finding her way around.

She could feel eyes on her from all directions as she shuffled in a random direction by well-groomed and polished students, most of them talking among themselves about her, she knew.

"Hey, who's that?" asked one girl.

"I dunno, never seen her before. Maybe she's new?" her friend responded.

"Yeah, she's pretty cute too. Think I'd have a chance?" a boy standing nearby joked.

"Hm...I don't think I've ever seen her before but for some reason she looks kinda familiar..."

She blocked out the gossip with the sound of her nervous heartbeat in her ears as she ran around a corner, still searching for some clue as to her destination. She wasn't sure how she'd known when she reached it. She just assumed she would. She'd heard them mention it plenty of times at home.

Of course never to her directly, but sometimes she could hear their voices from down the hall as they walked by her door. They always seemed so happy when they talked about that weird place...what did they call it again? A hotel...hot spring...host club!

_'That's it! It's was called the host club. I just have to remember where they said it was...' _her waist-length hair whipped from side to side as she jerkily turned her head this way and that, never slowing down or stopping even as her lungs began to fill with a familiar ache.

_'G-gotta find it...' _She willed herself on, fighting back the wheeze threatening to come on. It wasn't until she ran full tilt into something solid did she slow down. Or more accurately, fall backwards. She landed hard on her backside with a startled squeal and cracked her eyes open slowly when she heard a small grunt near her.

A red-haired boy was glaring at the ground and rubbing the back of his head. She gasped and quickly sat, pulling her skirt down. "I-I'm so, so sorry. I-it's just that I'm new here and I got lost trying to find t-this room..." she trailed off as the boy stood and offered her a hand.

"Sorry 'bout that... you ok?" his voice was gruff and his face looked stern, but the longer she stared at him the more she realized he didn't mean any harm.

She smiled softly in relief and accepted his hand up. "I-I'm fine. And I should be apologizing. I mean, I ran into you."

He scratched his head, looking almost sheepish. "Yeah well, it's cool man. Where were you headed anyway?"

She glanced down as she thought, "U-uh...I'm trying to find the um, host club?" she stammered, her reply sounding more like a question.

"Oh yeah. Guess I have heard of that place. S'sposed t' be some real popular guys that entertain girls and stuff."

Her eyes brightened as she snapped up to look at him, nodding eagerly. "That's it! Do you know where it is then?"

He flushed lightly and scratched his cheek, staring off down the hall. "W-well I've never been or anything to be honest...but I saw some girls come from that direction giggling about some new theme they were putting on there, so maybe try headin' that way?" he shrugged lightly.

She stared up at him in gratitude before bowing politely, "Arigato!" she called behind her as she rushed off again.

The scary looking redhead watched her go, a little confused but mostly curious. "Huh. She didn't seem scared of me..." he noted wonderingly.

* * *

"Ooh~! Isn't this wonderful! Sometimes what matters most is enjoying the simpler things in life, like the fascinating world of a commoner circus!" Tamaki exclaimed, stretching his arms wide. Several girls smiled brightly and cooed at his usual grandeur.

Haruhi turned away sullenly, her face pulled into a grim expression as she tried to ignore the tight-fitting leotard. She had been jerked around and forced to cross-dress in all kinds of ridiculous outfits since enrolling in Ouran, but at least she hadn't felt so exposed.

"Am I the only one here who feels ridiculous?" she murmured to herself, looking to see what the rest of the hosts were doing. While Tamaki held an audience of girls captive by striking his signature poses, Hunny was putting on a magic show for his adoring fans who clapped and cheered with sparkly eyes. Poor Mori was surrounded by a flock of girls who giggled at the stoic junior with hearts in their eyes.

The twins were eating the whole clown thing up as far as she could tell, and so were their fans. Kyoya had set up his own fortune telling booth and was reading fortunes...for absurdly high prices of course. Haruhi sighed. So then she really was alone...

She didn't have any guests yet, so in the meantime she sat waiting on the couch. Maybe this was why she was the first to notice the door creaking open as a pale-faced girl timidly peeked inside. She looked hesitant to walk in, but seemed to be searching for something.

Haruhi studied her curiously, before her eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! That's the girl I saw from the window earlier...is she lost?" The brunette stood up to go to her, but as soon as the redhead saw her coming she quickly stepped away from the door with a gasp.

Haruhi stopped in her traps, blinking. "Huh. That was weird...did she just want to see what it was then?" she shrugged, not really knowing if she should try and see if the girl needed help or wait to see if she would venture back in on her own.

The redhead took a deep breath, pressing her forehead against the door as she tried to process what had just happened. She'd looked inside and seen something strange...people dressed up like they were in the circus.

This must be the right place, but then she'd chickened out at the last minute. A girl who'd been wearing the male's uniform for some reason had caught her staring, and when said girl had come towards her she had panicked and fled on instinct. _'Am I doomed to run away forever?_'

"Hey, what do you think this is, commoner?" a feminine voice sneered from behind her. She turned to see a tall, beautiful brown-haired girl behind her, staring down at her in disdain. "If you're not going in, then move it!" And with a harsh shove, the startled girl found herself shoved back through the doors, clumsily trying to regain her balance.

The doors swung open and the usual gust of rose petals swirled into the face of a wide-eyed auburn-haired girl who stood there with a slack jaw. "Welcome to the Host Club!" everyone cheered. She blinked, looking around hesitantly. Everyone was looking directly at her! She had no choice but to come forward now.

"Uh, sorry to just show up but, I'm looking for my—" she gasped loudly as she suddenly spotted two identical orange-haired boys in weird clown costumes. She looked a little startled at first but ran right to them, much to everyone's shock, "Hika-nii! Kao-nii!" she exclaimed, her large eyes looking almost watery.

When the boys heard the nicknames they looked up in alarm at the only person who had ever called them that. "Kasumi-chan?!" they yelled in unison, equally as stunned as their friends.

The girl through her arms around them both and squeezed them as hard as her thin limbs would allow, all the while mumbling quietly into their clothes. "I…I waited so long to see you again. I've been so lonely," she sniffled, pulling back to rub at her eyes hurriedly.

Kyoya seemed the first one to recover and approached the three orange-haired people with the stern look of a disappointed father. "Hikaru…Kaoru…care to explain?"

The twins looked at each other, then at their friends and sighed.

"Well…you know how we've always been 'twins'?" Kaoru started, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.

"See the truth is…we lied. We're not twins." Hikaru finished, and the host club gave a collective gasp. The orange haired girl stood off to the side timidly, looking very guilty and hurt.

Hunny blinked, studying the mystery girl near the twins, "S-so does that mean that Hika-chan and Kao-chan are—"

"Triplets." Mori finished flatly.

Tamaki, at a loss for words for perhaps the first time ever, stepped forward, whip still in hand, gawking at his friends, who he'd known since middle-school. He knew they had had problems opening up to people outside their bubble and were still learning, but he'd never expected them to keep a secret _this _big from him. He thought they had come to realize that the host club was like an extended family… it hurt that they hadn't confided in them about something like this.

"I can see we're not going to get out of this without an explanation." Hikaru sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

The girl, the apparent unknown Hitachiin sister bit her lip and stared at the ground, feeling as if her ever deciding to come here at all had been just a mistake. Why hadn't she enrolled in St. Lobellia all girls' academy?

Then her brothers would have been able to go on living their school life as they wanted, and she wouldn't have to deal with the humiliation of being rejected…again. But she was doing this because she was tired of always hiding in the shadows and feeling like a coward. She wanted to confront them. She wanted a chance to live in the sunlight for once.

"L-let's all have a seat…" Tamaki suggested shakily, nodding toward Kyoya. "We can all have some of that commoner's coffee…" Haruhi rolled her eyes at this statement.

'_Pull yourself together sempai…you look like you're about to hurl._' She thought, feeling the need to face-palm.

After Kyoya had ushered all the guests from the room and announced the club would temporarily be closed, everyone was comfortably seated with a cup of tea or coffee in hand. The 'twins' took a final deep breath and launched into their story. The girl, Kasumi, was sitting on the same couch, but on the far opposite end, to give her brothers space.

Hikaru frowned as he looked at his friends betrayed faces, "We never really meant to keep it a secret it's just…"

"It never really came up." Kaoru finished.

Kyoya frowned, jotting something down in his notepad. How in the hell could he have missed something this big? He prided himself in knowing everything on just about everyone. He could find their most embarrassing school picture from elementary school if he wanted. He could find out how many times they'd moved, how many pets they'd had and what _hospital_ they were born in for god's sake! How the hell had he missed a _girl_?! Another relative of two of their hosts.

"Yeah, and we haven't been together as the 'Hitachiin triplets' for so long. We kinda almost forgot we ever had a sister. We got used to being known as twins since Kasumi was never really around after we started school."

Haruhi noticed the girl stiffen as if she'd just been slapped and frowned. She knew the twins had a tendency to be harsh sometimes, even a little cruel, but she'd never image they'd reject their own sister with as close as they were to each other.

"I don't get it…how come you guys wouldn't be close?" Hunny asked innocently, fiddling with Usa's ears.

"See, Kasumi was born last…mom and dad thought they were having twins, but they ended up getting one extra baby."

"She stopped breathing after she was born and almost didn't make it. The doctors told mom and dad there was nothing they could do except wait and see how long she survived. It turns out her heart was weak and didn't get enough oxygen." Kaoru continued, and Kasumi bit her trembling lip and shut her eyes tightly.

She remembered how she was always the weak one. The runt. She had to stay inside all the time and there was hardly a time when one of the servants wasn't hovering over her, and whenever she was allowed to go to one of their parents' parties everyone would look at her with such pity it made her sick to her stomach.

But she had always been able to count on her big brothers. They always made time just for her and never complained about not being able to go outside when they were with her. They treated her like she was normal, and she adored them more than anything.

The three of them were as close as any triplets could be…until they started middle school. Suddenly they were distant. Their faces were almost always blank, even around her. They only came to see her every once in a while and never stayed for very long.

Then, one day they suggested that they could all play hide-in-seek in the mansion, just like old times, and she'd been overjoyed. As she hid in her spot behind the heavy Venetian drapes, waiting to be discovered, she heard them walking by, talking lowly.

She had thought they had come to find her at first, but soon found out that they didn't even seem concerned with the game, and caught her name being mentioned more than once. She strained her ears to listen and caught bits of the conversation.

_"…Think she's still hiding…?"_

_"Dunno…" Hikaru had yawned. "Don't really care…"_

_"Why d'ya think mom n' dad wanted us to play with her all of a sudden anyway?"_

_"Mm…?" Hikaru mumbled, sounding bored, "Maybe they feel bad about never spending any time with her and were afraid she was getting lonely. Geez, if they felt guilty about being such bad parents they should just come right out to her and say so instead of making us play these boring baby games."_

_"Yeah, I know right? I mean, at least they still make time for me and you, but think about it…she sits up there by herself all the time when she's not at school, right?" Kaoru muttered thoughtfully._

_Kasumi's room was basically in an attic-like area of the mansion. Up a flight of narrow, hidden stairs that led into a large and luxurious pent-house area where a normal house's attic would be. Kasumi got this whole area to herself. But it felt lonely being isolated from the rest of the family like that, and when they'd all been younger she, Kaoru and Hikaru had usually all slept together in either the boys' or her room._

_"…But having a daughter who's so physically weak can't be too easy on them, either. I could understand why it might be easier to just put being around her off on the servants."_

_"Heh heh…yeah, totally. Hey, how 'bout we ditch this stupid game and go have some real fun. Mom's gonna have Ms. Ashiya and her stupid poodle over later…wanna put a frog in her tea again?"_

_"Awesome! I'm so there, bro!" Then they'd raced off without a second glance back in her direction. Kasumi had quietly stepped out from behind the curtains after they'd left, her eyes watering and her heart feeling as if it had shattered into a million pieces._

She couldn't believe it…she had always thought her brothers spent time with her because they loved her. Sure, she knew everyone _else_ just pitied her, but she never thought her brothers would feel that way… '_Was it all just a lie? All this time…they just thought I was in the way?_' After that, she had never tried to seek her brothers out to spend time together anymore.

On the rare occasions they did offer to play with her, she would politely decline with a fake smile plastered across her face and tell them she had too much studying to do. When they left without ever questioning her, she would wait until she heard the door click shut, turn on her stomach and wonder why she was ever born.

The sound of Kaoru's voice brought her back to the present.

"When we got older, she was too weak to do a lot of the stuff we liked to do. Like run around and swim and wrestle and stuff. She usually stayed inside all the time."

"Yeah, but we'd go visit her every day. We'd play games and watch TV and read stories and sometimes fall asleep together."

"Then we got old enough to start school, but our parents still thought Kasumi was too weak to come with us, so they had her home schooled up until middle school. And even then, they sent her to a separate middle school."

Kasumi frowned at the memory of middle school. That had been the great divider…when her brothers had started ignoring her.

"We got used to seeing her less since we weren't together during the day anymore. We'd play together less and spend less time together. Eventually, we were pretty much doing everything with just the two of us…it was hard having a sister that couldn't keep up." Kaoru frowned, "But I guess we still weren't the greatest brothers either…"

"You've got that right!" Haruhi stood up suddenly, much to everyone's surprise. "It doesn't matter if they're weak or strong or different or boring or embarrassing or whatever. Family is family! I thought you guys would understand that as close as you are…" The 'twins' flinched at the glare she gave them, the coldest one they'd gotten from her yet. "I can't believe you would just abandon your own sister like that…I thought siblings are supposed to look out for each other, not leave them to suffer by themselves!"

"Haruhi…" Hunny mumbled sadly.

Everyone was silent after that outburst, and Kasumi didn't bother to hide the tears anymore as they streamed down her face. Her fisted hands clenched her skirt tightly, and her long bangs covered her eyes as she stared at her lap and bit her lip to keep from sobbing out loud.

She couldn't help but think of how painfully alone she'd been since her brothers had abandoned her. She tried to keep a mask up around everyone, pretending she was the cheerful airhead who didn't notice it. But she did, and it hurt so, so much.

She felt everyone's eyes drift to her, but she couldn't bring herself to raise her head. Then, the space beside her shifted as someone sat down and pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulder. "We're so sorry Kasumi-chan…" they whispered quietly.

Another pair of arms wrapped themselves around her neck from behind, and she felt the weight of a chin on top of her head. "We're the world's worst big brothers. I don't blame you if you never wanna forgive us…" Hikaru's voice was soft, not cruel or arrogant for once. It was the first time in a long time that she felt they were being sincere with her.

"W-why…" she began, and her voice sounded strange even to her own ears. "Why did you leave me all alone like that? I…I really missed you guys. I was so sad with nobody to talk to me or play with me or read to me…" Although she couldn't see it, almost everyone in the room frowned as they saw her shoulders begin to shake.

She gasped softly and her heart skipped a beat when she felt herself being lifted up, and then another body was suddenly leaning against the side Kaoru hadn't been on. She realized she must be trapped in the middle of a Hitachiin sandwich. Her brothers were both holding her to them like they never wanted to let go.

"We promise we'll never leave you behind again, Kasumi-chan." Kaoru said solemnly.

"Yeah, so stop crying ok?" She raised her head and smiled weakly, her delicate hands coming up to gently grip the two pairs of arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"I…I thought you guys hated me. And I was so angry and sad for so long. I convinced mom and dad to let me come here, even though they wanted me to go to St. Lobellia's…" she didn't notice the collective shudder and terrified looks that ran across the hosts' faces, "because even though I was mad at you, I really wanted to be with you again, too. But I was afraid you would just ignore me again, so I was gonna embarrass you in front of your host club so you _couldn't _ignore me." The Hitachiin boys grinned with pride at their little sister's devilish streak.

"Haha! That's our little sis alright!" Kaoru chirped brightly.

"Yeah," Hikaru smirked and moved back to ruffle her hair, being rewarded with a cute pout that made Tamaki swoon. Kyoya subtly smacked him upside the head. "But don't worry now that the Hitachiin twi-er, triplets are back together, nothings ever gonna come in between us again." Kaoru nodded happily in agreement and both brothers kissed their sister's wet, flushed cheeks while she closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"Guuys…" she whined. Tamaki was practically floating with hearts in his eyes and everyone else just laughed quietly, surprised the twins could be so sweet.

"Kyoya, did you get that? Did you? _Did you_?" Tamaki rambled, leaning into his best friend's face. The glasses-wearing host simply sighed with a small nod. "Affirmative. I'm having glossies of all sizes made as me speak." Haruhi, who happened to overhear the conversation sweat dropped, giving the Ootori an evil look.

"Hey…can't you even respect three siblings bonding for the first time in years without making a profit?"

Kyoya simply smirked, adjusting his glasses as he wrote something down in his notebook. "I'm afraid that's just how it goes Ms. Fujioka…a profit must be made where a profit may be found as the old proverb goes," he chuckled that calm, dark laugh of his.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and let them stay there. "Okay sempai, I'm no literary genius and I can tell you _totally _made that up…"

"Well, with this sudden revelation of our 'little devils' not being a pair, the question remains on how to proceed offering their services at the host club. We can't really continue to advertise them as a set when there's clearly a spare in the pair as one might say," Kyoya rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Tamaki who had been swooning over the sibling fluff-fest from afar since the brothers warded off any attempts he made to get too close, perked up instantly. "Yes! We owe it to our devoted customers to tell them the truth~! Now, how is it that we can present Hikaru and Kaoru without selling them off as twins?"

"Hmm…I guess Tama-chan's right. Now that Kasu-chan's gonna be going to school with us, everyone will know Hika-chan and Kao-chan aren't twins." Hunny tilted his head cutely, thinking it over.

Kasumi had looked up in interest at the excited chatter among the hosts. She craned her head around and stared up at her older brothers curiously. She had heard them vaguely mention the "host club" that they were a part of once or twice at home. But seeing as how they hadn't been on a speaking basis until just recently, she'd never known the details of what it was they did.

"Onii-chan…Aniki…w-what's a host club for?" she questioned innocently. Everyone stared at them, as if asking how it was they could have not told her about it. Surprisingly, the twins looked away sheepishly. '_Could it be…are they embarrassed to tell her about their whole _brotherly love_ act?_' Haruhi studied them curiously.

Tamaki, after getting over his shock, instantly appeared before her with sparkling eyes and an almost disturbingly large grin. "A-ano…" he seized her hands in his and began to explain the wonders that was their host club.

He told her about how their mission was to make each and every one of the girls they entertained leave with a smile, how they all had certain 'types' they played, and especially how Hikaru and Kaoru acted out their 'forbidden relationship'.

When he was done explaining, Kasumi was still trying to process it all. Haruhi completely understood of course; she'd never heard of a host club either before she came to this school. She may be used to it now, but it still wasn't exactly something _normal_. Kasumi was blushing lightly, probably at the thought of her brothers pretending to have an incestuous relationship. She would've never guessed any of this from how detached they were at home.

"O-oh. I think I get it now." She sweat dropped. It was still a little hard to process, but if it's what her big brothers liked to do, she supposed she could get used to that.

"You know, with Kasumi-chan joining us at the academy, we may be able to solve our dilemma in a much more obvious manner than we're thinking of…" Kyoya had that number crunching look in his eyes, the look that told everyone to be on high alert. Everyone else knew it well, and Kaoru and Hikaru bristled, but Kasumi was completely oblivious to its meaning.

"No way…" Hikaru growled.

"You can forget it!" Kaoru glared.

"Oh, think of what it will be doing for the club's clientele list to add a new twist to one of our 'types'."

"We don't give a crap about that! You're not gonna use our baby sister as jailbait!" Hikaru barked.

"W-what?" Kasumi didn't understand what was going on, or why her brothers were almost squeezing the life out of her all of a sudden.

"But, but…think of the possibilities!" Tamaki piped up now, after the Hitachiin boys had kicked him away when no one was looking. He smiled brightly despite the identical footprints on his face. "Instead of just having the little devils, think of how much our fans will love it if we add in the twist of having a little angel caught in between you! I can see it now…" he gushed, obviously going off into a world of his own, "Kasumi-chan in an innocent white robe, beautiful wings and a halo—"

"Tch! What kind of messed up fantasy are you having, boss?" Hikaru spoke, a vein throbbing on his forehead as he thought of all the perverts in the school drooling all over his poor, naïve sister. She may be all grown up now, but after all the years they'd let her down he and Kaoru had a lot to make up for, and he intended to be one of the most protective brothers possible.

He knew his little sister was adorable because she always had been. Sure, their mom used to dress them all up in wigs and skirts when they were little, but since Kasumi really _was _a girl, their mother had spent the most time making sure everything she wore was as stylish as possible.

Adults always cooed over how sweet she looked, and whenever the family went anywhere, they always made sure to hold her hands and make her walk in the middle, to keep her away from all the dumb little boys who would try to befriend her.

Now that they had all blossomed into beautiful teenagers, she wasn't just cute anymore, she was…gorgeous. Her hair, the exact same shade as theirs, fell almost to her waist, stopping just short by several inches in loose curls and she had the smooth complexion of a peach. Her eyes were large, her tiny nose was like a little button and she had inherited their mother's full pink lips.

The only thing she had that they didn't were the light freckles that were mostly invisible unless someone was close. And Hikaru knew that his brother shared his feelings and that _no one_ would be getting close enough to his sister to find that out.

"Aww…c'mon Hika-chan! Having Kasu-chan in the host club could be fun! And Haruhi won't halfta be the only girl anymore!" Hunny squealed, obviously happy with his reasoning as he swung Usa-chan from side to side.

"Yeah, but Haruhi's pretending to be a _boy_, dummy, so no guys are gonna hit on her." Kaoru retorted.

"But think of it this way, you all want to be able to spend as much time together as possible to rekindle your relationship, right? What better way than by having her become part of the host club?" Kyoya smirked, knowing there was little they could do to argue with that logic.

The orange-haired boys scowled at the club's manager, but Kasumi looked thoughtful, considering the pros and cons. Sure she wasn't really used to boys because she was home-schooled until just two years ago, and she'd been in an all girls' middle school then.

So this would be the first time she ever got to attend school with boys. She'd never really thought much about crushes since her childhood had been so sheltered. She'd never had many close friends to gossip with, and now seemed as good an opportunity as ever to make some.

"I-I'll do it!" she beamed.

"_What?!_" both the twins cried, their jaws dropping.

Kyoya smiled evilly. Tamaki's eyes lit up as he rushed over to embrace her, and Hunny cheered. Mori gave her a solemn nod but his smile was gentle, since he hadn't spoken the entire time. Haruhi sighed with relief as the slight tension in the room was released. The color seemed to have drained from her brothers' faces and she frowned slightly.

"Are you ok Kao-nii…Hika-nii…?" She questioned caringly. They didn't respond, and when she tried to shake their arms they simply melted into a colorless puddle of goop on the floor.

* * *

**Well, how was that? I think I did a good job of building up to the touching reunion between the boys and Kasumi and I'm proud of the way I could describe how they're so torn apart even when being so physically close. But anyway, hopefully my character Kasumi isn't _too_ OOC. As you can see she's pretty gullible from not being around kids her own age for so long. lol Anyway, please, please, please review if you want me to continue because it would mean the world to me!**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! ****REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone, welcome to chapter 2 of 'The Third Hitachiin'! I'm so excited for this story so please, please remember to review, ok? Thank you and big kudos to everyone who has already reviewed!**

**Oh, wanna know something interesting? Though not necessarily important. These are the translations for the triplets' names (though there's no real connection between them, which is a little disappointing)**

**Hikaru (male version of the popular female name Hikari)- light/radiance**

**Kaoru(male version of the female name Kaori)-fragrance**

**Kasumi-mist/haze**

**Anyway just thought that'd be interesting to mention. Please enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Thanks again for helping me find the way Haruhi," Kasumi smiled brightly, as she followed the brown-haired girl back from the headmaster's office. Her parents had already enrolled her just over a week ago—they had promised they wouldn't tell her brothers of course—but she'd still needed her schedule and a general tour.

That was where Haruhi had stepped in and offered to help her while she got adjusted so she wouldn't have to deal with the rowdy host club anymore than necessary for a while.

"Hey no problem," Haruhi smiled back. "I was the new kid not too long ago. I figure it must be tough with everyone fussing over you and all, so I thought you'd want a chance to catch your breath."

Kasumi nodded in agreement. It had taken a while to 'revive' her brothers after announcing that she would be willing to join the host club. Ultimately, they hadn't been able to say no to her sad, pleading face.

Kyoya had immediately set about adjusting Hikaru and Kaoru's 'brotherly love' theme to a 'forbidden triangle', and she was to return to the club room promptly after her last class to go through training.

Her brothers had seemed the most concerned about this, but Tamaki had insisted it'd be necessary to evaluate what kind of type category she fell under before she could properly be called a member.

Kyoya had graciously ordered her a uniform although she'd insisted it wasn't necessary, and once she had modeled it for the rest of the club at Tamaki's request and gotten the approval of everyone (and the reluctant pouts from her brothers), she was all set to begin her life as an Ouran Academy student and host club member.

"So where to now?" the orange-haired girl clutched the smooth fabric of her buttercup yellow uniform, a nervous habit, as she felt the burning stares of other students they passed in the hall. It might take a while to get used to being so admired by her peers.

She wasn't anything special at her old school. Just sweet, polite Kasumi. Here, she was almost like a celebrity, the sister of two popular host members. It was a big deal apparently, and a couple of girls had even been talking about it outside the headmaster's office as it had already began to spread.

"Well, we get a break from morning classes, then we have another class before lunch. So I was thinking we could head back to the club and meet up with everyone. I know your brothers must be really anxious to see you again. And everyone else will want to know your schedule too."

Kasumi giggled shyly. She thought of protesting this by saying that her brothers weren't _that_ dependent on her and that she barely knew the others and doubted they'd miss her much, but it would be silly to argue this as she remembered the way Tamaki, Kaoru and Hikaru had all clung to her desperately and begged her to take one of them with her.

Mori had to physically pry them off, for which she was grateful. They walked back into Music Room #3 to find the rest of the hosts waiting for them as Haruhi had said. Her brothers immediately jumped upon spotting her and she politely greeted everyone with a small wave and a grin.

"Hey, so you got everything you need now sis?" Kaoru questioned as the two girls approached the rest of the host club.

"Uh-huh!"

"Thanks for helping out, Haruhi." Hikaru smiled lightly, patting the brunette's head.

"Eh, no problem…" she replied flatly, inwardly annoyed at having to smooth down her hair again.

"So Kasumi-chan, what homeroom are you in?" Hunny asked excitedly.

"Um, let me see…" she fished around inside her school-issued tote bag with the Ouran Academy crest on it for a moment before coming up with a neatly folded paper. She scanned it for a second, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration before she answered quietly, "Uh, looks like I'm in class 1-D."

Instantly, her brothers gasped dramatically before clinging to each other and sobbing heavily.

She stared at them with wide eyes, still not quite used to seeing this side of them. "W-what is it? What's wrong?"

She felt someone place a reassuring hand on her shoulder and turned to see Kyoya smiling calmly. "It seems you'll be in a separate homeroom from our club's three first years—Kaoru, Hikaru and Haruhi. If you'd like, I can make arrangements for you to be moved to 1-A—"

Kasumi quickly shook her head, "Oh! Thank you for offering Kyoya-sempai, but as much as I'd like to be in class with Haruhi and my onii-sans, I don't mind staying in the homeroom I've been assigned. I'm just glad I was accepted into the academy. I couldn't possibly be ungrateful and impose."

"Who cares about that?! Can't you see your big brothers are suffering here? Impose! Impose!" Hikaru wailed.

"Y-you'll be all alone if you stay…we won't be there to protect you and you won't know anybody!" Kaoru sniffled. She sighed, knowing they were only trying to look out for her, and smiled gently as she walked over to them and pulled them both into a hug.

"I know you're worried…but it'll be alright. I'll see you at lunch, right? And even if I don't know anyone…I can't expect to make new friends unless I try." She pulled away to give them a brilliant smile. "Thank you so much for wanting to be there for me," she kissed each of them on the cheek and giggled when they blushed. "You have no idea how much it means."

Hunny bounded over to her with Mori not far behind. "Can we walk you to your next class Kasumi-chan?" he asked hopefully, his brown eyes sparkling. Mori nodded.

"Sure, I'd like that Mitsukuni-sempai, Takashi-sempai." She hoped they didn't mind her addressing them by their first names after having just met, but she felt maybe it would be okay if they were all going to be in the host club together.

Hunny's eyes widened slightly and he looked up at her almost bashfully, "Y-you called us by our first names…"

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry! That was rude of me, wasn't it? I can call you by your nicknames if you wa—" Mori stopped her by putting a large but gentle hand on top of her head. She looked up at the tall, dark-haired boy slowly, her amber eyes shining in curiosity.

"It's fine. Call us whatever you want." he replied in his usual monotone, but the red-haired brothers watching were not pleased, thinking they'd seen a faint flush on his face for a second.

Kasumi flushed brightly and stared at the floor shyly, "O-ok…" Hikaru was seething and Kaoru, was slightly calmer, held him by the collar to keep him from storming over to them and ripping the quiet junior's hand off.

"Yeah, Kasumi-chan!" Hunny chimed in, "We're all friends now!"

Her eyes filled up with warmth that her brothers hadn't seen in them for years and it made them inexplicably peaceful. _'Friends…'_ she thought, _'I have real friends._'

Kaoru and Hikaru shared surprised but happy glances.

_'We can't interfere if she wants to be around them. We owe her this.'_ Hikaru thought.

Kaoru as if reading his brother's thoughts, nodded in agreement. '_Maybe this is better anyway…she'll have more people to protect her than just us now. But it doesn't mean we won't be there for her the most of all.'_

There was a happy squeal and everyone looked to see Tamaki acting like a giddy school girl again. "Kasumi-chan is…_soo_ adorable~!" his hands curled into fists at his mouth as he wiggled around. "I can't take it anymore! Please say you'll be daddy's second little princess!" he all but begged as he lifted her off the ground and shook her back and forth in a crushing hug.

The redhead's face became a little paler and she looked almost dazed. The identical boys smashed their fists into the back of their blond leader's head and he let go of their sister with a pitiful whine.

"_Mommy_! Hikaru and Kaoru are being _mean_ to me agaaain!" he cried, turning to Kyoya for sympathy. The Ootori, who was finishing up creating his background file on Kasumi, shrugged without looking up from his computer.

"Hm…you probably deserved it."

"Waaah! Mommy, why are you so cruel?! You never pay attention to my feelings anymore!" Kasumi couldn't help but to snort quietly as she tried to cover a laugh, but then the thought of Kyoya as a negligent housewife and Tamaki as a whiny husband popped into her head and the giggles got harder to contain.

Soon, everyone was looking at her curiously until she finally burst out laughing holding her sides as the tears filled the corners of her eyes and her stomach started to ache. "S-sorry…!" she said in between laughing fits, "I-it's just t-that…T-Tamaki-sempai s-seems more like a mommy than Kyoya-sempai!"

Tamaki's jaw dropped as he stared at her with mock hurt and Kyoya smirked in silent agreement. The twins were now leaning on each other as they giggled hard into their hands, a nearly identical image of a housewife Tamaki filling their own heads. Hunny grinned broadly and Haruhi laughed quietly as she thought of it. Mori smirked lightly. He could get to like this girl, he thought.

The rest of the time was spent explaining exactly what would be expected of Kasumi once she joined the host club. They warned that since they'd never had an openly female host (Haruhi not counting due to her 'condition') that there would be special rules she'd need to follow for her own safety.

She would be the third part in the forbidden romance act, but also have her own seperate type specifically for her when she got her own set of male guests to request her. Her brothers were very adamant about insisting what was and wasn't acceptable (most of the rules applied to her future guests).

She couldn't date any of her clientele, and would have to have permission from them before speaking with them outside the club. They were also not allowed to have certain contact with her and the demands went on and on.

Haruhi eventually explained that the rules were somewhat excessive and Kyoya promised that they would come up with a fully revised, Hitachiin-approved set of rules for Kasumi before she officially began hosting.

Before long, the morning break was over and she was walking to class with Hunny and Mori. They waved good-bye to everyone else and she watched Haruhi drag her sobbing brothers away as they desperately tried to get to her.

She felt a little bad since she had come to this school specifically to be with them, but she couldn't be too clingy anymore, otherwise they might leave her again… '_No. They promised they wouldn't.' _she assured herself, '_I have to believe in them the way I want them to believe in me.'_

"So Kasumi-chan, what do you think of the academy so far?" Hunny asked, breaking her away from her thoughts.

She titled her auburn head in consideration. "Well, I haven't been to many schools as you know… my last school was an all girls' school on the opposite end of the city and it was…ok. But I think I'll like this school a lot more. Everyone has been so kind and my brothers are here," she sighed happily as she said this, "I'm hoping I'll be able to make a lot of good memories and friends."

Hunny suddenly took her hand in his and looked straight into her eyes with large brown ones. "We're your friends, right Kasumi-chan?" he asked cutely. Kasumi felt herself wanting to squeeze the life out of him in that instant, but managed to resist the urge.

"Yes! Of course you are Mitsukuni-sempai! You all are," her bright smile softened into a nostalgic, almost sad one and she fingered one of the long curls that tumbled past her shoulders. "Growing up…I didn't get to spend much time with other kids. It was always just me and my brothers. When they went to elementary school without me and my parents were busy…I was so lonely all by myself. I wondered if I'd ever make real friends…but since the moment you met me you've all welcomed me into your group and tried to help me. I don't have words to express how grateful I am for that." Hunny's eyes filled with understanding and he hugged her arm to his chest, smiling.

"I'm glad we met you, Kasumi-chan! Right, Takashi?"

The taller boy walking beside them smiled softly, "Yeah. Definitely," he nodded.

Before long they stood in front of classroom 1-D and Kasumi turned back to the duo as she placed her hand on the door, "Well, thank you for walking me. It was great getting to know you both. I promise I'll do my best in the host club, too," She bowed respectfully.

"You'll do great Kasumi-chan!" Hunny quickly hugged her around the waist and Mori gave her one last pat on the head before they left. She watched them go for a minute with a smile before sighing and slowly turning back to the class's door. '_Okay…this is it…_' she swallowed nervously, '_I…I'm not backing down from this. I won't. I refuse.'_

With a trembling, ghostly pale grip on the handle she opened the door and stepped in one baby step at a time. The teacher was just beginning to take role and everyone looked up when she walked in. She froze in place and tried to block out the stares and frenzied whispers.

She felt like a cornered deer caught in headlights with no escape. She wanted so badly to cover her face and hide but she'd promised herself that if she came to this school she was going to turn over a new leaf and start living in the open. No more running away or hiding in the shadows. It was time to shine.

She bowed to the sensei and handed her the proper papers that stated she was a new transferee.

"Oh, hello there. You must be the new student the headmaster informed me of. Everyone, this is our newest student Hitachiin-san; she'll be joining us from now on. Please be polite and help her get adjusted. Now, where should we have you sit? I suppose any free seat you see fit will do for now,"

Kasumi nodded and thanked her new teacher in a nervous slur of jumbled words before quickly scanning the room for a seat. She noticed a slouched form toward the far back corner and her eyes lit up brightly as she scurried down an aisle, careful not to snag her long dress on anything.

When she reached the seat she carefully slid in and turned to the boy, who's head still hadn't lifted. She smiled cheerfully as she tapped his shoulder lightly, "Hi!" she whispered.

Immediately his head shot up like a rocket and at first what looked like an angry scowl was etched onto his face before he turned slowly to see who had actually had the guts to touch him. Imagine his surprise when he found the same girl from the hallway looking directly at him, unafraid.

"Y-you…you're…" he stammered as he searched for the right words. In truth, he'd been curious about the girl ever since he'd bumped into her earlier. He had wondered who she was and why she had been in such a hurry for a reason that didn't involve getting away from him.

He had also wondered why she wasn't afraid to touch him or look at him. According to the stupid rumors going around the academy, she should be cursed by now. Looking at him directly could turn anyone into a block of ice and bumping shoulders with him could put someone in the hospital (and she had done both).

Or at least that's what they said. He knew it wasn't true, but as much as it pissed him off he'd never been able to convince anyone it wasn't, mostly due to his scary appearance. Yet here was this same mystery girl with the same happy grin she'd been wearing earlier.

"Hi, I'm Kasumi Hitachiin. I never got a chance to introduce myself before. Sorry," she smiled sheepishly in a way that made her seem like a happy young child and stuck her hand out toward him. He stared at the dainty hand with the pretty ring on the index finger in surprise before gingerly grasping it to shake in his own.

"U-uh, I'm Ritsu…Kasanoda." he waited for some kind of reaction, anything like the terrified stares, screams or shudders he was used to, but she only nodded.

"It's nice to officially meet you Ritsu-kun." she chirped, then suddenly looked up at him through thick lashes, a rosy blush staining her face, "Oh, that was kind of forward wasn't it? I-is it ok if I call you that?"

Kasanoda could feel his heart rate quicken the longer he looked into her face. He suddenly felt strangely warm… This was the first time ever a girl had casually talked to him or used that honorific with his name.

Right now he was struggling to make his mouth work as she was now staring at him with obvious concern, "Y-y-y-yeah! Ok that's cool," he yelped, squeakier than he'd intended. He withdrew his hand from hers like he'd been scorched, but looked back her quickly with timid eyes.

She was smiling understandingly. "I'm glad I know someone in this homeroom…my brothers were really worried about me being alone on my first day. But now I can tell them not to worry!" she giggled.

Kasanoda scratched his head. He was really having a hard time figuring this chick out—not that he had any experience with girls to go on. "Yeah, a-about that…are you sure you should be…y-you know sitting here, n-next to me and all?" he blurted without really thinking.

She at first appeared surprised, and then her face morphed into a frown and he cringed away at the kicked puppy look. "Is there some reason why I shouldn't? I can move to another se—"

"No!" he shook his head, only realizing he had spoken louder than a whisper when he looked to see some of their classmates and the teacher watching them, startled. He ducked back down, his face red. Everyone slowly went back to their work, too scared to comment on the outburst, even the teacher, "I…I-I mean no. You don't gotta move or nothin'…j-just thought you'd uh, get scared; you know 'c-cause of my mug."

She gently reached out and took one of his hands again, much to his surprise. "Ritsu-kun, what do you mean?" she sounded almost worried. "You don't have a coffee mug with you?" she glanced around his desk and he swore his mouth hit the floor.

Was she for real? "Y-you're kiddin' me right?" he suppressed a snort of laughter.

"Uh, w-was it supposed to be a joke?" Kasumi was confused. Suffice to say no one had ever really taught her about teenage slang, so she took the expression quite literally. Kasanoda was too awkward as it was to really comment on it, but he was sure anyone else would've been on the floor in tears at this girl's cluelessness.

"No, just…never mind." he slowly took his hand back from hers and fully turned forward in his seat, but still looking at her, "So…you're new?" he mentally slapped himself. '_What the hell was that Kasanoda?! First time a girl ever looks at you without fainting and you say something stupid!_'

"Yes…I came here to join my brothers. They're in another homeroom." she explained patiently. She didn't mind if he was awkward, she just appreciated someone besides her brothers and the host club taking time to talk to her.

"Brothers? …Wait, you said your name was 'Hitachiin' right? You're not related to those identical guys are you?"

"Yep! Those are my older brothers, Hikaru and Kaoru." A shiver went up his spine but she didn't seem to notice as he swallowed under his breath. Those guys had always kind of given him the creeps. It was just something about them. The way they always seemed like no one mattered but the two of them and everyone else was just in their way.

They were a part of that host club thing all the girls were crazy over, but whenever he saw them outside it they always had cold stares on their faces around anyone who tried to approach them.

When they talked to people it was like they were just testing them, waiting for them to slip up. Hell, he knew_ his_ face was scary, but when he scared people away at least it wasn't on purpose.

Then, he remembered the conversation he'd had earlier and it dawned on him. "Hey, when you asked for directions to that club earlier, were you lookin' for your bros?"

Kasumi blushed prettily and gave a shy nod. "Y-yeah…I haven't spent much time with them for a while and I was really excited to see them again."

Kasanoda looked thoughtful, able to ignore the fluttering happening in his stomach at the sight of her blush long enough to think over the statement. Those twin guys always seemed like they were wearing masks around everyone, like no one ever really got to the real them.

But it was obvious to anyone with eyes that this chick adored her brothers no questions asked. If they were really _that_ cruel she wouldn't be so excited when she talked about them, right? Maybe he was misjudging them, just like everyone did to him… Maybe they weren't so bad deep down.

"So you guys are real close huh?"

He tried to appear nonchalant so he wouldn't seem too nosey but when he glanced her way the blush was still very much present on her soft features. "W-well…we did…drift apart for a while, but now we're going to be together more often again. And," she paused and bit her lip, looking around the room before whispering, "I…I love them more than anything." It sounded so angelic…anyone would be flustered if a cute girl said that she loved them like that.

Kasanoda eyes widened and he quickly tuned to hide his own glowing blush. '_Damn…lucky bastards._'

They were both startled when the bell rang and the teacher dismissed class. Kasumi jumped in surprise before looking up at Kasanoda apologetically. "I'm sorry…I can't believe I distracted you the whole class…I'm not normally this talkative."

Kasanoda shook himself out of his nervousness and cleared his throat. "I-it's cool. W-where you headed now?"

"To lunch to meet up with my brothers. But I still don't know my way around that well, would you mind showing me if it's not too much trouble?"

Kasanoda's imagination kicked in as his panic went up. _Kasumi batted her eyes flirtatiously, "Would you mind letting me feed you if it's not too much trouble?"_ He forced himself to snap out of it long enough to nod.

"Y-yeah, come on." She smiled gratefully and followed him out of the classroom.

Needless to say they received plenty of stares on the way to the lunchroom. Everyone practically cleared a pathway for them. The cute Hitachiin girl was walking with the scary yakuza heir.

Murmurs rose up from every direction like steam from a pot. Kasumi nervously shifted a little closer to Kasanoda unconsciously and he flinched up when he felt something bump his side until he looked down and remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

He raised an eyebrow at her small frown and the way she was kneading her hands into her dress, "Uh you okay?"

She nodded slowly, "Mm-hm. J-just not so used to all the staring…" she whispered back, looking at the ground as they walked. He thought about it and understood. People were intimidated by him, so they only looked when they thought he wasn't paying attention, but it could still annoy the hell out of him.

He could handle himself if necessary but she seemed much shyer and too polite to speak back to anyone. As if the slightest movement would scare her away, he lightly tugged at her arm so she was behind him instead.

Shooting his infamous ice glare at any onlookers, everyone froze in cold terror, and he smirked in satisfaction that his intimidating aura had finally come in handy. As soon as they walked into the finely decorated dining hall, all heads turned and gasped filled the room, but Kasanoda quickly diverted the attention with another rigid stare at the crowd.

People immediately went back to minding their own business. "You can look now ya know…" he muttered. Kasumi lifted her head and smiled in relief to see they'd made it. "Arigato Ritsu-kun," she squeezed his hand in gratitude.

"Kasumi-chaaan!"

"Kasumi! Kasumi!"

Both redheads looked to see 'six' boys rushing toward them, two identical boys and one bouncy blond were in the head of the group and as soon as they got close enough all three of them threw their arms around her. "Gah!"

Kasanoda was practically shoved aside as they surrounded the girl's slight frame, cooing like they were speaking to a cute baby and nuzzling her like a doll.

"We were so worried about you, don't ever scare your brothers like that again!" one of the identical boys scolded. Kasanoda stood in the background, forgotten, and just stared.

Now that all three were together he could see the resemblance pretty clearly. Although she was quite a bit smaller than the two boys and currently being smothered in between them while a short blond clung to her waist.

"Kaoru-nii…Hikaru-nii… p-please let go…!" her muffled cries went mostly ignored.

A short brown-haired and oddly feminine looking boy grabbed both redheaded assailants by the ear and dragged them away as they cried like kids deprived of candy.

A tall, dark-haired boy plucked the blond from around her waist to place on his shoulders and the smaller boy pouted, but complied for the most part.

"I see you made it through your first class in one piece, despite earlier concerns." A black haired boy wearing glasses stated.

Kasumi nodded, "Of course I did! I even made a new friend." All the hosts' attention immediately perked at this.

"Oh?" Kyoya titled his head, an eerie shine illuminating his glasses. Anyone who knew him well enough would know to stay clear upon seeing that look. Again, Kasumi was painfully naïve, and so it went unnoticed in her excitement.

"Yes. Everyone, meet Ritsu-kun!" she took his wrist and pulled him to her side, much to Kasanoda's terror. The minute their eyes landed on him, every last guy except maybe the girly looking brown-haired one had murder flashing through their eyes.

He gaped like a fish out of water, his throat suddenly dry. "N-nice to uh…m-meet…you?"

They said nothing, which only further proved to him that he was in trouble. Forget about him being the son of yakuza. _These _guys were psycho! Kasumi glanced between the hosts and her new friend and seemed completely oblivious to the mounting tension.

"Hm…Ritsu Kasanoda." The black haired one with glasses and the deep voice spoke up and Kasanoda instinctively stood at attention. He was looking at his computer screen and smirking like the devil himself. "You were born in the Kanto region and you're from a long line of yakuza. Currently in line to be the successor to the Kasanoda-gumi," Kasanoda couldn't help but sneak a glance at the girl still holding his wrist and gulp. "You're in class 1-D with Kasumi and are also a first year."

He figured it was no surprise that some people were bound to know about his background, but this guy had literally pulled the information out of thin air! How would that affect his newfound friendship with Kasumi? The only person outside the Kasanoda Syndicate that showed an interest in being around him.

Her grip_ had_ seemed to have tightened a bit, but he couldn't tell if it was from fear or shock. He couldn't see her reaction, but the reactions of her friends weren't pretty.

The redheaded boys looked stiff-jawed and pale as sheets and the stares of the others were suffocating. Even the small blond had this deadly aura around him all of a sudden.

Kasumi was indeed surprised. She'd never expected her new friend to be a gang leader in training. But then, it wasn't like she knew much about the yakuza anyway.

Just the scary stories her brothers used to tell to scare her as a little girl and the things portrayed in movies. This made it all the more confusing, because Ritsu didn't match any of the stereotypical views of cruel yakuza bosses she'd grown up learning.

She didn't even have time to scream when she was suddenly yanked away from Ritsu's side and two arms were wrapped securely around her body from behind. She looked up to see passionate violet eyes and stared in confusion. "T-Tamaki-sempai…? What's wrong?" The passionate, kind blond had suddenly gone into protective 'father' mode out of the blue.

He looked down and gave her a frighteningly calm smile that would have looked more at home on Kyoya's face. So maybe the blond_ had_ picked up a thing or two from hanging around the Ootori… "Nothing to worry about little princess…we'd just like to get to know your friend better. You know, on a more personal level,"

She wasn't sure she entirely believed that as she looked over worriedly as her bothers each place a hand on one of Kasanoda's shoulders, their own smiles terrifyingly tight.

"Weeell Casanova… why don't you come take a little walk with us?" Hikaru offered emptily, as if he were barely restraining himself from ripping the yakuza boy limb from limb.

"Yeah, it'll only take a second Bossa-Nova," Kaoru, normally the calmer one, helped his brother drag the stunned dark redheaded boy back through the lunch hall's doors to who knows where.

"W-where are they taking him? Will he be ok, sempai? He didn't do anything, so don't hurt him ok?!" Kasumi was yelling at Tamaki now, trying to wriggle herself free, but the tall blond was stronger than he first appeared. Not to mention she still was pretty frail.

"Now, now…calm down Kasumi-chan. Daddy promises he'll be fine." Tamaki smiled smoothly as he stroked her head a few times like he was playing with a favorite toy. Kasumi pouted in irritation, but said nothing else.

"Sempai…I hope you don't plan on doing anything extreme," Haruhi warned in a dangerously low voice.

Tamaki gulped at this taking a few steps back and inadvertently drawing Kasumi back with him, "W-why on earth would you say that Haruhi?"

Haruhi gave him a 'you know exactly what I mean' look that had him looking a little pale. Kasumi _almost_ felt bad for him; even though Tamaki was supposed to have been the leader of the club according to what her brothers had explained to her, he seemed to get bullied by just about everyone. Mostly Kyoya and Haruhi though.

* * *

In the hall, the boys were really putting poor Kasanoda through the wringer as Hikaru held him by his shirt collar and Kaoru leaned into the side of his face with a menacing smile. "Care to explain what you were doing with our little sister, pal?" the oldest triplet hissed.

Kasanoda felt sweat trickle down his forehead and shook his head vehemently, "N-nothing! I-I mean I was just helpin' her get to the lunch room, I swear!"

"Then why'd she say you were her friend?" Kaoru snapped impatiently.

"Uh w-well…w-we sit next to each other in class and uh, I asked if it was ok with it and she s-seemed cool with it and all…" he blushed as he thought back to her adorable smile. _'N-no! Not the right time, dude! Bad thoughts man, bad thoughts!'_ he quickly chastised himself.

"We're only gonna say this once Casanova…" Kaoru muttered, and Kasanoda was too scared to correct him.

"If you wanna live long enough to be the next head of your gang…" Hikaru continued.

"Then stay away from—"

"_Kasumi-chaaan_, come back to _daddy_!" they stopped talking in unison when they heard Tamaki wail and saw Kasumi come bursting through the lunchroom doors, stopping short to stare at them with wide eyes. The host club wasn't far behind her, and they guessed she had managed to break free from Tamaki somehow.

"W-what are you doing onii-sans?" she whispered. Hikaru slowly let go of Kasanoda, but not quick enough as his sister rushed forward to place herself between her brothers and classmate. "Were you going to hurt him?"

"Kasumi, we were just—"

The youngest Hitachiin spread her arms wide in front of the stunned Kasanoda as she stood her ground against her brothers, "He's my friend!" she cried, her voice starting to crack. A slight wave of dizziness made her feel as if the room was tilted but she managed to ignore it. "Ritsu-kun is my friend and I won't let you hurt him because of what his family does!"

Kasanoda was amazed at what he was hearing. This tiny girl that looked like a strong wind could blow her over was defending him from her crazy brothers. His heart melted a little.

He didn't think he'd ever been so touched. He heard light wheezing and looked to see her shoulders were trembling slightly. In fact she looked like she was ready to fall over…why hadn't he noticed before? He put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Hey, Kasumi calm down!" Kaoru exclaimed, obviously concerned. He gently gripped her outstretched arms and lowered them to her sides. "You know what happens when you let yourself get worked up like this!"

"Hey, w-what's happening?" Haruhi asked worriedly.

"Kasumi-chan!" Hunny gasped, clutching one of her hands tightly.

Hikaru shook his head frantically, looking like _he_ was on the verge of a panic attack as he tugged at his hair, "Her heart can't take the stress, she's—"

"You heard me! Get a doctor here immediately!" Kyoya was yelling into his phone. Kasumi began to sway and slumped against Kasanoda, who caught her upper arms to steady her.

Her eyes looked glossy and unfocused, "Ngh…nii-sans…"

"Hey, hang in there ok?" Hikaru pleaded, gently running a thumb over her smooth cheek. If anything happened to his sister, after everything they'd put her through, he doubted he or Kaoru would ever forgive themselves.

"Come on sis, stay awake. Please?" Kaoru added, patting her other cheek lightly.

"S-sorry…I'm in the way again…" she gurgled weakly.

"Don't say that." Tamaki sounded firm, once again serious. "You're one of us now. Families stick together," Haruhi patted his arm comfortingly when she noticed his sad expression. Despite his silly, often over the top antics, Tamaki was a very caring person who'd do almost anything for his friends. When one of them hurt, he hurt. She'd come to realize this in the short time she'd spent with the host club.

"Ootori-sama!" Kyoya turned to see some of his family's medical personnel rushing toward them with a stretcher. Everyone stood back for them to get through and Kasanoda gently helped them get the girl onto the gurney as they wheeled her down the hall, Kaoru and Hikaru bolting after them before anyone could try to stop them.

"Come on everyone. All we can do now is wait… Hikaru and Kaoru will call us if anything comes up." Tamaki assured his friends, though he was just as worried. Kasumi may have been the physically weak one, but he knew the boys well enough to know that all three were in a very fragile state at the moment.

Kasumi was healing from her abandonment and the boys were trying to fulfill the role of big brothers that they'd neglected for so long and take responsibility for their frail sister. They walked back into the lunchroom in a somber silence.

Only Kasanoda remained in the hallway, his heart hammering away as he thought of the delicate girl who had dared to be his friend.

* * *

Kasumi woke up hours later, her eyes feeling heavy and the blinding white light from overhead burning her eyes. She uttered a quiet moan and tried to remember where she was and what happened. She raised her stiff arms above her head and noticed instead of the yellow school dress she'd been in, she was wearing a thin gown…

Then it all came back to her in a rush and she tried to sit up with a sharp gasp, only to weakly fall back to the uncomfortable mattress. "K-kasumi? You're awake!"

She turned to her sides to see one of her brothers holding both hands. She grinned lazily. "Hi Kao-nii, hi Hika-nii," she yawned, obviously still sluggish from whatever medication they'd given her. "What'd I miss?"

Hikaru shook his head and held up a glass of water for her to drink, which she did gratefully. After her throat was moist again, she looked at her brothers again, surprised to see dried tear stains on both their faces. "W-why were you crying?" she gingerly reached out to run a thumb down Kaoru's cheek, tracing the faint trail.

"Are you joking?" Hikaru let out a humorless, broken chuckle. "We could have lost you, idiot! Why _wouldn't _we be crying?"

"D-Don't _ever _do that to us again." Kaoru carefully hugged her to him, pulling her upper body to his chest. "It's hard enough for us worrying about you every second of the day you're not with us, but if you let yourself get stressed enough to put your health in danger and we're not there…" his grip tightened ever so slightly and she felt something wet land on her head.

She soothingly wove her small fingers into his hair, her face pressed against his shoulder. With the other hand that still held Hikaru's she made gentle patterns on his hand with her thumb.

"I promise I'll be more careful…" she breathed quietly. "It's just that I really want to be friends with Ritsu-kun…his eyes looked so lonely. I thought I could understand him and maybe he'd understand me…"

"It's ok. We were wrong not to even let you explain first," Hikaru soothed, squeezing her hand back.

Kaoru drew back, smiling a little now. "The host club stopped by while you were asleep," he motioned to a table beside the bed full of the most beautiful bouquet she'd ever seen and several cards. Her face lit up and she turned to her brothers, "It's beautiful! Did they really do all this for me…?"

Hikaru laughed and ran his fingers through her long hair, which had been taken out of her loose braid while she slept. "Hey, you heard Tamaki-sempai. You're part of the family now."

She beamed, "Family…"

It was then that a young blond nurse walked in, smiling when she saw Kasumi sitting up and alert. "Well, you seem to be doing better. You gave everyone quite a scare. But the doctor has cleared you for discharge on the condition that you take it easy, get plenty of rest and take some medication that will help you control your panic attacks."

Kasumi nodded with a sigh, "Well, as long as I can go home…this gown is kind of itchy." she pouted, making her brothers and the nurse laugh.

* * *

"Tomorrow is a clean break, ok?" Hikaru assured her.

"But what if everyone remembers me as the crybaby that got sent to the hospital on her first day," his sister whined.

"Nah. The host club and Casanova were the only ones in the hall. Besides, I'm sure Kyoya-sempai would blackmail anyone who saw into keeping quiet. He's good at getting information and keeping people quiet," Kaoru winked.

Kasumi settled herself back in the limo's comfortable seat and stared up at the car's roof. "You won't tell mom and dad will you…?" she asked quietly.

"We promise," Hikaru smiled.

"Cross our hearts." Kaoru added.

She hugged them both happily, knowing if her parents knew she'd had a panic attack on her first day, they'd make her come back home for sure. And she had a feeling going to Ouran Academy was probably one of the best things to happen to her in a while, despite how crazy her first day had been. "Good…thank you."

"It's the least we could do. We said we'd start looking out for you now, remember?" Hikaru playfully pinched her cheek.

"Hey c-cut it out nii-san!" she pouted, pulling away from him. The boys laughed at her pouting face and slightly red left cheek.

:~XoXoXoXo~:

The trio was surprised to see their parents home early when they arrived home and their mother preparing dinner instead of the usual kitchen staff that was always in charge of making sure the children were fed when both parents were away.

"Mom, you're home," Both boys were slightly surprised but Kasumi ran into her mother's arms without hesitation as Yuzuha opened them for a hug.

"Yes, I decided I needed to come home early once in a while to see you three. Being your own boss has its benefits," she winked at them, stroking her daughter's hair gently. "And how was your first day? You didn't get into any trouble did you?" she pulled away to hold Kasumi's face in both hands and casually inspecting her for any signs of distress. Luckily, there were none. "Kaoru, Hikaru, I hope you minded your sister."

"Ouran Academy was so exciting! I met so many new people," Kasumi told her mother happily, "And Kao-nii and Hika-nii watched out for me all day."

They nodded quickly and the Hitachiin matriarch smirked in satisfaction. "Good. Dinner is just about done. We're going to eat together tonight as a family. Your father is home too—"

"Hey boys, princess," a man's warm timbre filled the front hall as their father entered in a dress shirt and slacks.

Three pairs of amber eyes lit up as they spotted a dark haired man with a neatly trimmed beard. "Dad!" he laughed and hugged all of his children as they rushed to him. Obviously their father had gotten home not very long ago since he was still in his work clothes except for his suit jacket.

"Hey dad, how's that new virtual reality game coming along? Is it almost done?" Kaoru asked excitedly. He had always had an interest in his father's work. Even as a child he would often disassemble old electronics to figure out how they worked and use pieces from some to fix others.

Mr. Hitachiin laughed heartily and ruffled his son's spiky orange hair, "Still going through the prototype phase son. It won't be ready for testing for another few months and probably won't hit the market until late next year. But I tell you what, when it's time to do some real-time testing, why don't you come down to the office with me and help try it out?"

Kaoru's eyes practically had stars in them and his siblings could tell he was over the moon. "Y-yeah! I'd love that," he grinned goofily, his cheeks pink.

"Mm…like father like son I see." Yuzuha chuckled charmingly, "Come on everyone, to the kitchen," she announced, ushering everyone into the family's lavish kitchen. Kasumi felt her stomach start to grumble at the side of all the delicious food spread out.

"When did you have time to make all this?" their father chuckled.

Yuzuha turned to her husband and children with a wink, "A lady never tells. Just sit and enjoy," No one had to be told twice as the whole Hitachiin family gathered at the dinner table. Kasumi couldn't remember the last time it had been like this. Probably not since elementary school. Now the family was talking and laughing together like nothing had ever changed. She fought back the water welling in the corners of her eyes. Today had been incredible for so many reasons.

"So Kasumi, make any new friends sweetheart?" her father asked pleasantly.

She nodded, about to respond when Hikaru broke in, "Yeah, she met some yakuza punk in her class..." he grumbled moodily. All the silverware seemed to stop clanking silmultaneously.

"_What?!_" their parents yelled.

His siblings stared at him in disbelief and their parents wore identical looks of shock.

Their father did his best to stop choking on his pea soup. "I-is this true Kasumi?" he managed to get out. Kasumi had always been the obedient one of the trio. The sweet, easy to handle one.

Even when her parents didn't have time for her, she didn't act out from lonliness like her brothers had, but retreated into herself. Even when she was obviously hurting she would sacrifice her feelings for others. He didn't know what he'd do if his precious daughter actually got involved with some gang member. He shuddered to think what kind of grandchildren he'd have...

Kasumi fiddled with her hands underneath the table as she tried to compose herself. She knew there was nothing she could do to hide the obvious blush so she decided to just come clean, "H-His name is Ritsu Kasanoda...um, I sit next to him in homeroom."

Mr. Hitachiin was seeing stars. He couldn't believe his daughter...his sweet, innocent little girl...where did he go wrong? Was it because they weren't around often enough and had the servants give each of their children 'the talk'?

Was it because she was going through some kind of late stage that all girls supposedly went through where they were attracted to the bad boy type? Was this some subtle form of rebellion for not being around enough? His head was spinning with questions and he rubbed a hand against his creased forehead dizzily.

For a minute, the table was speechless. She had pretty much indirectly confirmed Hikaru's words to be true. Her mother calmly cut into her roasted duck, "I see...and what is this young man like?" Here, Kasumi brightened, hoping her mother's calmness meant she'd be willing to listen.

"He's so kind. Even though he seems to be scary on the outside, I can tell he has a good heart. He helped me twice and seemed shy," she giggled.

Mrs. Hitachiin smiled thoughtfully. "Hm. He sounds like a very trustworthy young man. But I'd still like to see for myself if he's as noble as you say. It's settled, we'll have him as ou guest for dinner tomorrow evening." Hikaru, who had seemed quite satisfied for subtly throwing a wrench in the stupid yakuza's plans to get close to his sister, coughing up the sparkling water he'd just downed.

"Really?" Kasumi asked in awe.

"Y-yeah mom, really?" Hikaru sputtered. "I-I mean, she just met the guy today..."

"Which is all the more reason why we should meet him. If he plans to court our only daughter he has to be suitable and able to provide for her and their possible family," she nodded as she took a sip of her sparkling wine.

Kasumi's mouth opened wide as the worst blush she'd had all day errupted like molten lava across her face. "M-mother!" she squealed, hiding her face in her hands, "I-it's not like that! R-Ritsu-kun is j-just a nice friend!"

Yuzuha smirked, enjoying one of her favorite pastimes of teasing her children, "Of course dear, all romantic relationships start as friendships at some point."

Kaoru laughed lightly at his mother's teasing and his sister's more than flushed face. Mr. Hitachiin looked as though he was about to faint right then and there as his wife's words sank in, and Hikaru looked horrified by the thought.

"Mom! Are you crazy?! She's not dating some two-bit wanna be thug!" he seethed.

"Of course not dear...I haven't approved yet." Hikaru almost fell out of his chair and Kaoru burst out laughing at the looking on his brother's face, though deep inside he knew if that dumb yakuza ever tried to date his little sister he would help Hikaru make his life a living hell until he was ready to flee town.

"C-Can we talk about something else?!" Kasumi yelled above the commotion, her face red and her eyes bulging from embarrassment, "Like...like h-how your new collection is coming mom?" Yuzuha decided to give her daughter a break for a moment, knowing she could only handle so much teasing.

"Wonderfully, thank you for asking. In fact, I designed some new pieces I'd love for you to try on for me later." Kasumi nodded, happy the subject was finally off her non-existent love life and imaginary future with Kasanoda.

He was a nice guy, and though everyone may not see it yet, once girls found out how sweet he was, she was sure they'd be flocked around him in no time. She just hoped he'd still be willing to be friends by then... Not that she'd blame him if he forgot she existed. She was a scrawny, shrimpy and literally weak-hearted fifteen-year old girl with no curves to speak of and little to no sex appeal.

Or so she assumed, looking at the pretty, busty, long-legged girls in the fashion magazines her mother read. She knew she could never compare to their glowing skin, perfect curves and tall, graceful bodies.

Dinner settled back into some form of tranquility and Kasumi spent the rest of the meal ruminating her feelings of being unattractive. It was a depressing thought but there was nothing she could do about it. She had just gotten the shallow end of the gene pool in terms of looks, and well...everything.

When dinner was over, their mother shooed the trio upstairs and told them to get started on their homework. Kasumi sat at her desk for several hours doing the assignments her brother's had gotten from Kyoya-sempai while she was in the emergency room.

She would certainly have to thank all of them. But especially the Ootori. It was his family that headed the nation's top medical distrubutor branch as well as professional care.

Anything worthwile in medicine probably had the Ootori name stamped on it somewhere. She had to say that going by the methodical side of Kyoya she'd seen earlier, she could easily see him heading his family's empire one day. He certainly had the smarts and skill for it.

After finishing up the last of her work, she decided she felt exhausted and should go ahead and shower then change into her nightgown in case she accidentally fell asleep reading again. After fifteen minutes in the shower, she slipped on her favorite silk magenta gown and matching panties. Setting her cherished ribbon on the sink and combing through the long tresses with her fingers before running her brush through it for a good ten minutes.

The last thing she did before exiting the bathroom was brush her teeth. A wide yawn let her know that reading herself to sleep probably wouldn't be necessary for the night, and she had just pulled back the sheets when there was a steady knock on her door. Confused, she scrambled to go open it, surprised to find her brothers on the other side, clad in only their colorful boxers and nothing else.

She couldn't even open her mouth as they each grabbed an arm and yanked her through the doorway before dragging her down the stairs to a familiar door she hadn't been to in a while. They pushed it open with ease and tossed her in the middle of one of the softest mattresses she had ever felt before jumping in on either side of her.

She squealed as they all bounced from the weight and she realized it must be a water bed. They laughed, obviously used to this and she found herself giggling as she got over her initial shock. When was the last time they'd had a 'sleepover' like this?

"We thought you could spend the night with us from now on, starting tonight!" Kaoru explained, grinning.

"Not like you have a choice," Hikaru snorted. "If you don't agree, we'll just keep bugging you anyway...or sleep in your room. It works for us either way."

Kasumi rolled her eyes lightly but wouldn't have it any other way. "S-stop bouncing and I'll tell you my answer." she laughed. The boys obeyed and the bed gradually became still again.

Kasumi took a deep breath and looked at them with a smile, "I think...I choose...this!" she grabbed a nearby pillow and whacked a stunned Hikaru upside the head, giggling all the while.

It took him less than a second to recover before he grabbed his own pillow to begin fighting back with. Kaoru got in on it when they both assaulted him at the same time, and before long an all out pillow fight had ensued. Kasumi had no idea how long they play fought before Hikaru managed to tackle her to the bed, straddling her with his legs on either side of her thighs.

She squirmed shyly but he gave her a devilish grin and ripped the pillow she held to her chest away before beginning to tickle her without mercy. She squealed and squirmed and tried to break free, rolling around all the while. Kaoru came in from her other side so that everytime she squirmed away from Hikaru, Kaoru was their to continue the assault. Finally she could take it no more and panted her surrender, saying that she needed to breath.

They stopped, and she laid there pinned under them, her cheeks flushed red and her mouth parted almost sensuously. "I...I quit...you g-guys w-w-win..." she moaned. "T-two against one...s-so isn't fair though..."

She pouted and they laughed Hikaru getting up and Kaoru helping her sit up before they both hugged her to them and she felt someone blowing a raspberry into the side of her neck. She laughed wildly., frustrated that she had so many sensitive spots and that they still knew where to find them all.

They let her go and she collapsed back on the now rumpled sheets, "All's fair in love and tickle fights, sis." Kaoru said cheekily. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned on her opposite side.

"Hey, move over!" Hikaru dragged her further into the middle of the bed by her legs and Kaoru pulled back the sheets before they tucked her in and then climbed in under the covers beside her. She sighed contentedly, knowing this is what she'd been missing all those years. The simple good times just like this that she could share with her brothers. "I'm glad we're together again..." she whispered sleepily, her eyes fighting to stay open.

Two pairs of arms wrapped themselves securely around her waist and she felt warm, toned bodies on either side of her, loving how comfortably warm and safe she felt.

"We are too..." Hikaru whispered.

"Promise us no matter how old you get you'll always be our little sis..." Kaoru mumbled, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"I..." she yawned softly, "I promise," Hikaru nodded, his hair tickling her cheek.

"Good. We love you Kasumi," they both whispered, the last words she heard before she fell asleep.

* * *

**Awww~! Could the Hitachiin's get any cuter?! Kasumi sure has an awesomely loving family. The dinner seen was kind of funny, especially since what I read about Yuzuha goes with her actions there. Anyway, I loooove Kasanoda, could ya tell? lol I was a little upset he didn't have more screentime in the anime, and so I decided that in this story, he'd be Kasumi's best guy friend. **

**Poor, awkward Kasanoda wouldn't know how to speak around a cute, innocent girl. lol XD Of course, with her fiercely protective brothers on the prowl, he'll have to stay on his toes to avoid getting burned...Will he develop feelings for her that cause Hikaru and Kaoru to want to beat him to kingdom come? Hmm...only time will tell. ;)**

**Please, please, please _REVIEW!_**


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